John Christian Nace: Four Children

 While John Christian Nace (1828-1928) had four children, none of his numerous descendants bear the Nace name. 

He and his wife Mary Ann Noffsinger (1828-1880) had only one son, William Robert Nace (1860-1935) whose living children were all female: Mary Lucy (1885-1979), Mattie Blanche (1886-1983), Cora Virginia (1888-1945), Annie Pearl (1890-1911), Ossie Bell (1894-1987), and Zora William (1903-1988). Zora either hadn't been born or was still an infant when this (abt. 1904) picture was taken.

John named his son William after his own father, William Nace (1797-1863). Possibly William's middle name Robert came from John's brother Robert or John's great uncle, Robert F. Nace (1802-1884). In the 1800s, many first sons were given their paternal grandfather's first name. John Christian Nace himself was named after his own grandfather, John Christian Nace (1760-1855).

His first daughter, Hester Elizabeth (1852-1880), probably got her name from John's mother Hester Fringer Nace (1802-1852), Hester Elizabeth married Samuel Huston Lipes, Jr. (1845-1926). Their children were Burk Stolpher (1872-1944), Ella (1876-?), and Otho Graves (1879-1951). After Hester's death, Samuel married again and had several more children.

John's second daughter was Sallie Ann Nace (1855-1921), who married Charles Judson Booze (1857-1927). Their children were Edgar Preston (1880-1960) who married Alberta Claire Phillips (1885-1980), Sandy Virgil (1887-1962) who married Mary Emma Smiley (1890-1984), unnamed baby (1882-1882), John Anderson (1883-1885), Mary Rossie (1889-1960) who married Robert Lee Jones (1877-1932), Rosa Ella  (1893-1980) who married Marvin Griffin Gross (1894-1970), and Minnie Lee (1896-1989) who married Harry W. West (1895-1963).

John's third daughter was Mary Ann Frances, also known as "Fanny/Fannie" or "Mollie" (1864-1933). She was likely named for John's wife, Mary Ann Noffsinger. She married George William Delong (1866-1944). They had a son, William Delong, but not much info exists for him. Possibly he died young; he is not on the 1900 census.

Mary Ann Frances is the daughter that John lived with after his wife died in 1898. Here is George and Fanny DeLong's house in Lithia: 

Picture taken in mid-1960s

John was listed on the 1900 Buchanan/Botetourt census as father-in-law to head of the household, George DeLong and his wife "Molie F":

Two cousins (probably George's) are also members of the household. Next door is John's son William and his family. On the other side is Lucy Spence, Willliam's mother-in-law. William's house was torn down in the early 1950's, but here is the lot where it once stood. Half of the DeLong house is at left:

Despite years of research, I can find no information about any additional children John C. Nace might have had. Therefore, I was surprised not long ago to see some online sites listing two other sons for him: Charles Allen Nace (born in either 1858 or 1862) and Robert "Bob" Calhoun Nace (born in either 1869 or 1873). At least three family trees on Ancestry.com mention one or both in their information about John Christian Nace (but no documentation is provided to prove they are his sons):

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/112999467/person/352065225438/facts

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/120166721/person/210185490073

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/65770830/person/30140900536/facts

If Bob and Charles were indeed John's sons, they'd likely be on the 1870 census for Buchanan/Botetourt census, but they aren't. Only his four proven children are listed:

There is, however, an 8-year-old Charles Nace in a Sizer household though: 

But what about the 1880 for Buchanan/Botetourt census? Are they there? Nope. Only his two younger children, William and Fannie, are listed. Hester and Sallie would have married and and in their own homes, though Hester might have died by this time. [Note that Mary Ann Noffsinger Nace's father, Abraham, lives next door].  

On the 1880 Fincastle/Botetourt census, though, there is a "Mary Nace" listed with her two children, Charles (age19) and Robert (age 9):

Probably someone saw the Fincastle census, thought "Mary Nace" was Mary Ann Noffsinger Nace, and erroneously concluded the two boys must be sons of John Christian Nace. This might have been how the error started popping up in Nace family trees on Ancestry.

The error involving one of these boys has also popped up on FindaGrave. Bob Nace's site (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16165693/bob-nace) lists John Christian Nace as his father and Sarah Ann (Sallie), Mary Frances, and William Robert as his siblings. 

 

UPDATE: As of mid-November 2021, Bob Nace has been removed as John Christian Nace's son on Find-a-Grave. Bob no longer appears on John's children's Find-a-Grave sites as their sibling either.

Because someone linked Bob to John Christian Nace's family, Bob is incorrectly listed as a sibling on each of their sites as well. This grievous error could seriously mess up anyone using the FindaGrave sites for genealogical research:

Pvt. John Christian Nace: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15888957/john-christian-nace
Sarah Ann Nace Booze: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124420711/sarah-ann-booze

Mary Frances Nace Delong: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172711115/mary-frances-delong

William Robert Nace: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210661998/william-robert-nace

Although Bob lived longer than John Christian Nace, he is not mentioned in John's obituary:

We can only hope that whoever added these mistakes to online sources will correct them.

 

NOTE: Another error. As of September 2022, Family Search was listing an additional daughter,  "Clarisa Catherine Nace" (1857/58-1931) but she was the daughter of John A. Nace and Mary E. Craft Nace—not John C and Mary A. Noffsinger Nace. (Info from death certificate; Clarisa was born in 1859 and died in 1932.)

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Some of my information on the children and grandchildren of John C. Nace comes from a family tree that the late Bill Gross (Zora's son and the last remaining grandchild of William Robert Nace) researched and gave me about 30 years ago.—Becky Mushko

 

Matthew Nace: Another Discovery

 I've posted several times about Matthew Harvey Nace, the brother of my great-great grandfather John Christian Nace: "Nace Settlement" when Matthew wasn't around in 1863 to help settle his father's estate, "Matthew Harvey Nace" when I learned about elaborate tomb he'd built for his wife Evaline who died in 1854, "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part I" when I learned he'd absconded with funds from his company and was supposedy sailing to California, and "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part II" when I learned of his further adventures and where he was buried.

Here's a recap: Matthew marries Evaline in Lynchburg, VA, in 1847. They live in Richmond with their three children until Evaline dies following the birth of a daughter in May 1854. Six weeks later the baby dies. Matthew has an elaborate tomb constructed for Evaline in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. Matthew's mother, Hester Fringer Nace, dies in the summer of 1854. Matthew and his children are living in New York by 1855 and Matthew is apparently involved in several businesses, including Nace & Coe. But in 1856, Matthew has robbed the company, swindled others, and absconded. His former partner, Israel Coe, places notices in several newspapers. Here's one:

In April 1856, Matthew writes Coe a letter saying he is sailing to California and sending his children to his father (William Nace in Buchanan, Virginia). However, Matthew doesn't sail and doesn't leave his children with his father. Instead, he marries Ella B. Christian, his late wife's sister, on July 7, 1856, in Vigo, Indiana. By 1857, they are living in Missouri where Matthew is apparently scamming several people.  

The Randolph Citizen, 27 May 1859, page 2

I couldn't find the article in the Fulton Telegraph, so I do not know what his "rascalities" include. But it is likely that he has committed many illegal acts, and thus he leaves the area before he is arrested. No doubt he stops by Lecompton, Kansas, where he leaves his children with relatives. His son William M. appears on the 1860 Kansas census as a member of his uncle William's household. One of the girls ends up with her grandmother.

By the 1860s, Matthew (now James Neyce) and Ella are in Oregon, where they have a daughter Berta Lee (born 1867) and a son James McDowell (born and died in 1868). Apparently they were in Oregon from 1860 to 1868. Then they moved again. See "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part I" and "Matthew Nace Mystery, Part II" for further details of his adventures.

Eventually, Matthew/James does make it to California, where he lives for several years before he is again involved in rascalities and spends some time in Folson Prison. His prison description matches his description in the above newspaper article—right down to the damaged left eye.

Matthew Harvey Nace—"the Expert Scoundrel"—is, no doubt, the black sheep of the Nace family.

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